"Viviana! Get up!" A strange sense of foreboding settled in my stomach as strong hands shook me awake. 

Rolling over in my sleeping bag, I saw Cameron standing over me, a concerned look on his face. "Get outside, the others are already waiting." 

"What's going on? It's the middle of the night!" 

"Just get outside. You'll see." 

Sliding out from inside the warm, comforting folds of cloth, I grabbed my tennis shoes, which stood next to the door where I had left them the previous day. 

As I exited the house, I immediately realized what had gotten Cameron so worked up. Stationed above us was a colossal Iceheart warship, flanked by two smaller bombers. It seemed to stare down at Earth mockingly.

Suddenly, I remembered what Amanda had said before we left the Program. 

They are close, Viviana, closer than you think. 

And now, they are here. 

"We have to run, come on!" Cameron grabbed my hand, leading me to the center of Scorchtown, where the rest of the former Glitches stood, huddled together. 

"But what about the others? You're leaving more than a hundred people to die!" 

"There isn't time," Cameron growled. "Either we make it out, or no one does!" 

And then, as if on cue, a tiny, flaming rocket shot out of the warship's underbelly, streaking across the sky before exploding in a brilliant flash of blue. More rockets followed, swirling and dancing in symmetrical patterns before releasing a burst of color with a pop. 

"What is she even doing?" I shook my head. As the warship ceased to release the little rockets and the sky grew dark again, a message written in very familiar, glittery blue swirls grew visible. 

Hope you enjoyed that special fireworks show designed just for you, courtesy of the Icehearts! 

Awe, don't be sad that it's over, stick with us! The fun has just begun!

<3 Queen Sara 

"I think we can conclude from our recent experiences that fun for her equals bad for us," Megan sighed. 

"Run!" I commanded instinctively. No one needed to be told twice. We sprinted as fast as we could away from Scorchtown just as the first bomb slammed into the ground, leaving a smoking crater where we were just seconds ago. 

Looking over my shoulder, I saw the survivors begin to exit their houses, finally seeing the danger. But it was too late. 

I felt sick to my stomach as more missiles rained down behind us and warm blood flew through the air, splattering on the back of my shirt and in my hair. 

"Don't slow down!" Cameron yelled. 

Yet, I felt my legs inadvertently start to go weak.

I had been running for months, how easy it would be to stop. How easy it would be to lay down and die...

No, I had to keep going. For the Flames, for Tara, for the Glitches, for Lessaenes. 

I ducked, sliding out of the way as a flaming beam fell from a long abandoned building, barely missing my head. 

"The ship!" Cameron yelled from the front. "We have to get to the ship!" 

Pumping my legs faster, I followed the rest of the remaining Glitches as we took a sharp right turn, running past the moribund block adjacent to Scorchtown. From there, we had a clear view of the destruction. 

I gritted my teeth and averted my eyes, trying in vain to expel the image of the gigantic heaps of ash and bones from my mind. Bile rose up in my throat and I coughed, my eyes watering from the smoke. 

Just a little further. 

Soon, we reached the sewer Cameron had showed us. Iveya approached it, placing both her hands on the grate. Almost instantly, a green hologram appeared in front of her. 

Glitch: recognized. 

Unlocked. 

The air shimmered for a second, and soon, a massive spaceship materialized in front of us. 

"Now, that is awesome!" Theo gaped in awe as the hatch popped open. 

"We had some pretty wicked tech in the Human Union before we were defeated," Cameron nodded proudly. "Now, get in! The bombs are getting closer." 

"Not so fast, humans," Justin snickered, stepping in front of the entrance. "Queen Saralee may be caught up in her elaborate plan to kill you grandiosely on Lessaenes, but I'm ready to get rid of you suckers now," my brother chuckled in the deep, powerful voice of Armetorius Kandain. 

Before we even had time to react, he had us frozen, held still by the immense power of his Aura. I squirmed uncontrollably, to no avail.

If this was what a Clan Chief's Aura was like, I could only imagine the Queen's...

"Leave him alone!" I said, mustering the last of my courage. However, I soon realized how dumb I sounded. Here I was, trying to reason with the guy who helped my mother murder millions- no, billions of people. 

"Oh, it is you, little Princess!" Justin laughed. "How very nice. Your mother wishes to have you killed slowly and painfully, but I respectfully disagree. That's not really my style. I prefer smashing people into things, like this!" He pointed to his right, where a girl who looked to be about Kelly's age stumbled through the rubble, trying to escape the fires that raged in what was once Scorchtown. 

With a flick of his wrist, he had the girl hanging in the air. Her eyes widened with fear as she realized what was happening, but before she could make a sound, Justin snapped his fingers, flinging her roughly at a brick wall. 

I winced, looking away as her neck snapped. 

"I really don't want to steal the Queen's prize, but all of you in one place? This is too tempting. Surely she will understand. Now, who wants to go first?" He grinned sadistically, pointing to the wall. 

"No one!" I yelled, my Gift spiraling out from my core. Suddenly, I felt all-powerful, like I could do anything. 

Clenching my hands into fists, I shattered the invisible restraints that held me in place. 

"Impossible," Justin's jaw dropped as I approached him, a gigantic, blue arc in my hand. "No one can do that but Saralee!" 

Ignoring him, I sliced through his Aural shields like they were made of jelly. I was about to put an icicle through his throat when I remembered something my mother had told me. 

If I hurt him now, I wouldn't be hurting Armetorius Kandain. I'd be hurting Justin. 

Pulling my hand back, I looked frantically around me. Even with my Gift activated, I was still completely untrained, and couldn't keep my advantage over the Chief for long. 

As he restructured his shields, preparing to attack, I lunged at him, operating on pure instinct. As I grabbed his neck, I found that his snowflake tattoo was burning hot. 

Clamping my Aura-imbued hand down defiantly on the crude, stenciled Iceheart insignia, I felt a surge of concentrated energy shoot through Justin and into my arm, knocking me into a peaceful, black bliss.